Ford has unveiled the 1.0L 3 cylinder Ecoboost engine at the 2011 Frankfurt Motorshow. Like its larger capacity family members, the new power plant benefits from technologies such as direct-injection, turbocharging and variable camshaft timing. The 3-cylinder engine is said to be equivalent to a conventional 1.6 liter engine when it comes to performance and is virtually free of turbo lag. The new EcoBoost engine will be available in the Ford Focus, C-Max and B-Max, in 99 hp and 118 hp forms. A respectable 125 lb-ft of torque is available from 1300 rpm onwards.

Ford is able to extract so much power out of a small, boosted engine thanks to an improved twin variable camshaft design and an exhaust manifold cast that is cast into the cylinder head. While other EcoBoost offerings have aluminium block, this 1.0L unit has an iron engine block which is not only cheaper but reduces engine warm up time by 50 percent. Ford did not reveal the engine’s fuel economy figures but said that it produces less than 120g/km of CO2 emissions. The diminutive engine will be fitted with five-speed and six-speed manual transmissions.

The Blue Oval company confirmed that the new engine will be made available in North America, China and in other regions although it did not specify a timeline. Although not mentioned in the press release by Ford, I see the Fiesta as a likely candidate to receive the new power plant. This would give the 1.2TSI Polo Sport a good run for its money.

I have been a car fanatic since 1989, when my father was changing our family car then to a Toyota Corolla 1.6 GL fitted with a Twin Cam 16 valve engine that was carburetor-fed, a big deal back in those days. The automobile technology and industry fascinates me and I hope to broadcast these interesting developments to everyone out there through this blog.